DOJ attorney on leave after admitting wrongful deportation

The U.S. Department of Justice on Saturday placed an attorney on administrative leave after he conceded a Maryland man was wrongfully deported. Attorney Erez Reuveni was representing the government in the court case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man U.S. authorities deported to El Salvador last month despite his legally protected status. Reuveni admitted he did not know why Abrego Garcia was being held, counter to repeated White House allegations that the man is an MS-13 gang leader involved in human trafficking. Reuveni asked federal judge Paula Xinis for time to persuade the U.S. government to bring Abrego Garcia back in compliance with her Friday ruling, The New York Times reported.

The Department of Justice suspended Reuveni, who has worked as an immigration lawyer for 15 years, for failing to follow his superiors’ directions. In a statement released to media outlets, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that DOJ attorneys must zealously defend the cause of the United States.

Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia? He fled El Salvador around 2011 to escape gang activity. He received legally protected status, married an American citizen, and was raising three children. He was legally working as a sheet metal apprentice. His attorney contends there’s no evidence that Abrego Garcia was ever connected with MS-13.

What’s the status of Abrego Garcia’s court case? U.S. District Judge Xinis on Friday ruled that the United States must bring Abrego Garcia back from Salvadoran prison, citing a lack of evidence for his alleged involvement in MS-13. The U.S. government should have obeyed a 2019 immigration court ruling that said Abrego Garcia could not be deported to El Salvador, Xinis said. The DOJ has petitioned the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily halt Xinis’ ruling.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on the arrests of more alleged MS-13 members.